If you don’t mind the oppressive heat and humidity, Cambodia’s Angkor region is a photographer’s dream.  This one small area is home to dozens of ancient, picturesque temples adorned with elaborate carvings and statues over half a century old.

Surrounded by these relics of the past, you can’t help but wonder what life was back then.  I marveled at the effort that must have gone into creating the gigantic  monuments.  The  intricate engravings in the huge stone blocks must have required great skill and dedication from thousands of dedicated artists.

You may recognize some sites from big name movies: Hollywood has recognized the temples for their beauty and used them as the backdrops for  films such as Mortal Kombat, Tomb Raider (starring Angelina Jolie), and Ong Bak 3 (starring Tony Ja).

The following photos for Cambodian ruins are from my trip to Angkor Wat in 2008:

To see more photos from the same trip, check out my posts on Portraits of Cambodians and Life in Cambodia.